Korean Name Generator

Korean names: History, structure, and meaning

Both modern and ancient, expansive and austere, Korean culture runs the gamut from modern-world living to traditions rooted deeply in the past. Its geographical isolation from China makes it distinct—remaining one of the most homogenous places in the world.

Today’s Korean culture is highly energetic, enjoying the prevalence of K-Pop and K-dramas. Known as “Hallyu” or the Korean wave, Korean popular culture isn’t solely Korean as it is a global influence on the way we all sing, dance, and game.

Korean naming conventions

Typically, a Korean name in contemporary times begins with the surname followed by the given name. You may recognize many of these names for their brevity: common surnames like Jeong, Choe, and Bak.

Korean name inspiration

Korean family names tend to draw from generations of ancestral traditions, while given names are more unique, including hyphenated variations for more specificity. Oftentimes, the given name is written in Hanja—Chinese characters (Sun Wukong, for instance, reflects a name that may sound like a Korean-Chinese crossover.)

Try our Korean name generator to create your own unique and authentic-sounding Korean-inspired names!

List of Korean Names

With a structure of family name -> given name, the names in Korea aren’t what Westerners might be used to. But Korean names reflect the contrasting nature of Korean culture: a mixture of old familial traditions with new, independent given names that comprise the whole of your character’s identity. Here is a list of Korean given names for you to peruse!